It didn't get a lot of attention the other day when Mike Huckabee sent out an e-mail to his list of fervent right-wing evangelicals, but if you read carefully, the specific wording and claims he made are clear evidence of the mounting anger among that group with the "traditional" Republican party.
Huckabee was writing about behind-the-scenes efforts by GOP stalwarts to get Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin to withdraw from the race after making a claim that women subjected to "legitimate rape" would probably not get pregnant because their bodies would "shut down that kind of thing" as a defense mechanism.
Traditionalists were outraged, primarily because Akin's statement forced the spotlight on abortion and potential party restrictions on abortion at a time when their candidates wanted to talk about anything else BUT that.
Particularly upsetting was the fact that their VP candidate, Paul Ryan, holds views on abortion which are in lock-step with Akin's -- no abortions allowed for ANY reason. End of statement. But, they didn't want to talk about that.
Huckabee launched into a defense of Akin and his candidacy, and in so doing, laid out some specifics which, if true, shed an spotlight on the ruthlessness of the GOP establishment. They definitely have no compunctions about pulling out "the long knives," but they failed....clearly illustrating that the GOP no longer has any core leadership which can control the dialogue and messaging as it once could.